Notre Dame didn’t have a player picked in the first round of the NFL Draft Thursday night, the expected result according to most draft analysts.
All along, the thought was day two would be the busier one for ex-Irish players. A tight end has yet to go off the board, and Notre Dame’s Cole Kmet is viewed as the likely choice when one finally does today. The activity should start soon after the second round begins at 7 p.m. Friday.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. ranked Kmet as the No. 29 overall player on his final pre-draft board. Using those rankings, Kmet is now the fifth-best player available in the draft heading into day two. His teammate, edge player Julian Okwara, is the 22nd-best available, while wide receiver Chase Claypool is the 28th-best available prospect.
On the same tune, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler placed Kmet at No. 37 overall to the New England Patriots in his updated day two mock that foresees a busy day for Notre Dame. He projected another Irish player to go in the second round: Okwara, at No. 59 to the Seattle Seahawks. Claypool appeared in the third round, at No. 85 to the Detroit Lions, followed by cornerback Troy Pride Jr. at No. 93 to the Tennessee Titans.
Pride is the No. 86 player on Kiper’s board and seen as a third-round pick. Defensive end Khalid Kareem, considered by some a possible late day-two pick, is No. 176 on the board.
Draftwire’s Luke Easterling sees a somewhat short wait for Kmet, slotting him at No. 50 to the Chicago Bears in an updated day two mock draft. He slotted Okwara at No. 61 to the Titans, giving Notre Dame two second-rounders in Easterling’s mock. Claypool, Pride or Kareem were not included.
If Kmet is the first tight end picked, he will be the third Notre Dame tight end since 2011 to earn such a designation.
Not everyone views Kmet as Notre Dame’s top prospect, though. In a day two mock, CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso has Okwara being drafted first, going No. 47 overall to the Atlanta Falcons. Claypool is his second pick of the third round — No. 66 to the Washington Redskins. Pride (No. 68, New York Jets) and Kmet (No. 69, Carolina Panthers), give Notre Dame four picks in a span of 22 draft slots.
NBC Sports’ Josh Norris ranks Claypool as the 22nd-best player available and the No. 49 overall prospect in the draft. He is Norris’ highest-rated Notre Dame player. Six wide receivers were picked in the first round, and Claypool is seen as Norris’ fifth-best receiver still on the board.
Beyond Claypool, Norris sees Okwara as the 37th-best prospect still available and Pride as the 54th. Kmet is well below both, at No. 129 on Norris’ original big board.
Norris’ colleague Thor Nystrom sees Okwara as Notre Dame’s best draft prospect and is 21st on his remaining board. Claypool, who Nystrom also views as a second-round pick, is the 33rd-best player available, per his board. Kmet was the No. 78 overall player on Nystrom’s predraft top 500 and the third tight end listed.
----
• Talk about it inside Rockne’s Roundtable
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @BGI_LouSomogyi, @BGI_MikeSinger, @PatrickEngel_, @ToddBurlage and @AndrewMentock.
• Like us on Facebook.
